Here are some tips for keeping your goldfish active and healthy.
Steps
Step 1. Get a large enough aquarium
The ideal is a large aquarium, so if you want a happy and healthy goldfish, don't put it in the classic bowl.
Step 2. Add wooden accessories, plants, stones or ornaments for your little fish to swim around
Step 3. Give him plenty of free swimming space
Your fish will appreciate it. A good rule of thumb is: three quarters of open water, one quarter of decorations.
Step 4. Rearrange the decorations at each weekly water change
Your goldfish will feel like a whole new playground every time.
Step 5. Provide a varied diet
Shrimps, clams, salt water shrimps, Daphnia, worms; boiled lettuce, spinach, and other vegetables are all great choices.
Step 6. Interact with your little fish as you feed him
Goldfish can be trained to ring a food bell. This provides him with stimulation and a deeper level of familiarity with you than when you just observe him.
Advice
- Don't overfeed the fish. Give him as much as he can swallow in 2-3 minutes, once or twice a day. No matter how much he "begs" you, resist the temptation. (This is the cause of one of the most inevitable deaths for your supercharged fish friend. If you notice that they tend to float and open their mouths as if they are out of breath, the cause is the overfilled swim bladder, which occurs when Floating food is used. This problem mainly affects fantail goldfish.)
- Buy everything you want to put in the aquarium at a specialized shop in the sector. Otherwise the accessories could contain harmful substances and kill your fish.
- Make sure your tank is large enough for goldfish. These fish tend to grow a lot, so although it may seem nice to keep a small support aquarium nowadays, know that in a year it will be significantly underpowered. Most fantail goldfish can grow up to 6 '' (15cm), and comet, common and shubunkin fish can easily grow to over 12 ''. The generally accepted rule is eight liters of water for every 2.5cm of goldfish. Example: An aquarium with two 10cm and two 5cm goldfish would need at least 80 liters. It seems like a lot of room for four fish, but goldfish produce high levels of toxic ammonia and need more water to dilute this chemical. The ideal would be to keep only a maximum of two goldfish in an 80-liter aquarium, as they can grow much more if they are in the right environment. An even more precise rule is 80 liters for goldfish and another 40 for any other fish. Example: a 150 liter aquarium should contain a maximum of three goldfish, and again they should be fantail ones. An aquarium of comet, shubunkin and common goldfish would require, at least, 380 liters more. This is due to the fact that these fish are able to reach a length of about 60 cm! It can be nearly the length of the average koi carp you see in a pond! So use common sense, would you like to be stuck in a closet for the rest of your life? Think about it.
- Do not feed them with "special" foods only. A good prepared dry food is necessary as the main food.
- Do not touch the aquarium. You would scare the goldfish that would try to swim away.
- Use only natural plants such as vallisneria, hidrilla, etc. Plant them on gravel or tie them to a large piece of rock and place them in the center of the aquarium. Goldfish usually prefers natural plants over all other artificial objects. Some of the aquarium plants are also useful as a natural hygienic food.
Warnings
- Do not put sharp objects in the aquarium. They could hurt the goldfish.
- Do not collect decorations in the wild, as these also harm your little fish. They can transmit disease and contain too many salts and other minerals.
- Never wash decorations / accessories with detergents. There would be chemical residues that would instantly kill the fish.
- Do not stack rocks so that they can fall on the fish if they are bumped.
- Remember that any fish that can easily fit into your goldfish's mouth can become a meal.
